Or is it the “Uber for pools”? (Source: Swimply)
Don’t have a private pool to float around in this summer? Join the club.
Thanks to Swimply, that reality is quickly becoming a thing of the past — the company is basically Airbnb for private pools.
Founded in 2018, Swimply booked just ~400 reservations that year but raised $1.2m from friends and family. In 2020, Swimply made an appearance on Shark Tank but left without a deal.
In the best kind of Shark Tank revenge, Swimply grew revenue 4,000% that year.
Today, Swimply sees 15k-20k reservations per month averaging $45/hour. The startup’s employee count has grown from 2 to 20+ (with plans to double to 40).
Next up, Swimply plans to launch Joyspace — basically Airbnb for things like basketball courts and home theaters.
CEO Bunim Laskin was the oldest of 12 children. As entertainer-in-chief, he asked his neighbor if his family could use their often empty pool, and offered to cover some of the costs. That’s when the lightbulb turned on.
Laskin used Google Earth to find his first customers, identifying houses with pools and doing some old-school door-knocking sales pitches.
Today, Swimply operates in 125 US markets, 2 in Canada, and 5 in Australia.
Some pool owners have made up to $10k a month on Swimply. Unfortunately for them, 40% of American adults have urinated in a pool.